According to The Telegraph: “Mr Duncan Smith indicated his party is preparing to review tax credits, which are paid to people on low incomes or with children. The system was introduced by Gordon Brown and has been criticised for subsidising low wages. They will cost £28bn this year, and the cost is forecast to rise £35bn by 2018/19.

He said the cash pushed people above an “arbitrary” poverty line on paper but failed to change their lives, and some “unproductive” people spent the extra money on drink and drugs rather than food for their children.

“Quite often you’d take a family that had been on drugs or abusing alcohol, much of that money would have been spent in the wrong place and their own families would remain officially over the poverty line but unofficially rooted in poor lives,” he said.

“I met many families where the adults are themselves are deeply addicted. Even beyond their abilities, the money that they get often goes in quite negative ways, drugs, alcohol. They don’t mean to harm their families, far from it, but their kids will then have to be raised in an environment which is well below the poverty line. You can’t measure that effect. They then don’t go to school, they don’t eat enough,”.

This followed a diatribe about the system of Tax Credits, which IDS called poverty plus a pound (he prefers just poverty). In an ominous statement he then went on to say that Tax Credits had failed and asked us to consider: “what more could have been achieved had that money been invested in a more focused way to create lasting improvements to people’s chances… be it higher attainment in schools, better budgeting skills, recovery from addiction, and so on.”

The implication is clear, IDS wants to get rid of Tax Credits and instead shovel yet more tax-payers cash into the pockets of crooks like G4S in exchange for failing to provide public services.

Of all Iain Duncan Smith messianic rantings yesterday, this is surely the biggest hint of what is to come in the unlikely event that the Tories win the next election. Millions of “hard working families” currently claim Working Tax Credits, people George Osborne once called strivers. Now it seems these parents could find their already meagre incomes are set to shrink even further. And all because IDS has decided that people who are poor must be spending their money on drugs.

Comparing cutting disabled people’s housing benefit to ending slavery was a new low even for the increasingly deluded Iain Duncan Smith. Or at least it seemed to be. Suggesting that low-income parents will have to accept yet more cuts to in-work benefits – already pegged to rise below the rate of inflation – because some of them take drugs is genuinely astonishing. This is what these bastards really think of us. No-one on a low income, whether in work or not, is safe from these parasites.

Indeed. He appears to be seriously arguing that the main problem with poor people is that they have too much money.

!!

Still, since that’s been the basic thrust of Tory policy since 2010 – aided and abetted by the disgusting Lib Dem turncoats, and scarcely resisted by a Labour party now quite overrun with the kind of people who once tethered the Tories to some kind of sanity, and who still secretly wish they could be Tories – it’s nice to see someone finally stating it in clear-ish terms. In fact, it’d be nice to see someone put it that starkly to IDS; my bet is that he’s stupid enough to blurt out “Yes, exactly!” before realising what he just said and trying to bluster his way out of it.

ONCE AGAIN, THE DWP, DISABILITY WELFARE PARIAH’S, ARE SPOUTING SHIT THROUGH THEIR “COCK IN THE MOUTH COLLEAGUES”,
THE BBC, GENERAL PATTON;S PROPAGANDA PUPPETS!

THE SPIN DOCTORS OF THIS STATE SPONSORED KILLING MACHINE ARE ABOUT AS HONEST AS AN ATOS MEDICAL REPORT!

TWISTING THE TRUTH IS EASY WHEN YOU CONTROL THE DUMBFUCKS
OF THE HAND IN POCKET MEDIA.

THIS IS THE BBC HEADLINE;

The DWP claims 980,400 people – 32%, of new applicants for Employment and Support Allowance – were judged capable of work between 2008 and March 2013.

…………NEW APPLICANTS, MY ARSE!!!!!

THE PEOPLE WHO WERE IN RECEIPT OF SICKNESS BENEFITS RECEIVED A LETTER INFORMING THEM THAT THEIR OLD BENEFITS HAD CEASED TO EXIST AND THEY WOULD HAVE TO RE-APPLY FOR A NEW ESA BENEFIT THAT WOULD REPLACE IT.

A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO EXISTING CLAIMANTS ASKING ABOUT THEIR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ILLNESS AND THEY WERE THEN ASKED TO ATTEND A MEDICAL, BY THE NOW NOTORIOUS, ATOS HEALTHCARE.

A DISABILITY DENIAL UNIT THAT WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY SHITHOUSES LIKE BILL GUNNYEON, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER OF THE DWP AND HIS TWISTED NETWORK OF CRONIES FROM THE FACULTY OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE.

BOLSTERED BY THE EFFORTS OF A SELECT NUMBER OF PROMINENT MEMBERS OF OUR GOVERNMENT, IN TANDEM WITH HEALTH INSURANCE GIANT, UNUM CORPORATION OF AMERICA,

FORMERLY CHARGED WITH DISABILITY DENIAL LAWSUITS IN THE USA, THEY SET OUT TO CRUCIFY THE DISABLED OF THE U.K.

SADLY, THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OUT, BUT IN AN EFFORT TO QUELL THE GROWING TIDE OF DISSENT, OUR GOVERNMENT HAVE SOUGHT TO TRY AND INTRODUCE GAGGING OF ITS PEOPLE……………………………..

OUR LAWS ARE NO LONGER TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE OF OUR NATION, THEY ARE BEING REWRITTEN TO HIDE THE ANTICS OF THE WEALTHY ELITE FROM SCRUTINY……………………

ASK YOURSELVES, WHY IS THE DWP ONLY TOO GLAD TO HERALD IT’S ACHIEVEMENTS, YET COWER TO HIDE THE GROWING MOUNTAIN OF CORPSES LEFT IN ITS ASSAULT ON THE POOREST, WEAKEST AND DISABLED?

OUR QUEEN, OUR MONARCH, IS THE BIGGEST WELFARE SCROUNGER THIS COUNTRY HAS EVER KNOWN!

THE STATE SUPPORTS THIS FAMILY OF NOBLE “INBREDS” WHILST SHAFTING EVERYBODY ELSE…………………….

ON THIS PLATFORM, I GEOFFREY REYNOLDS, CHALLENGE YOU, IAIN DUNCAN SMITH, TO AN OPEN FISTED CAGE FIGHT………..

I MAY BE DISABLED, BUT THE HATE AND ANGER THAT I HOUSE WITHIN MY FRAIL BODY WILL PUT YOU TO SHAME ANYDAY!

“YOU ARE BUT A COWARD LIVING WITHIN THE BODY OF A MAN”

WHY NOT TAKE UP MY CHALLENGE AND LET THE WORLD SEE WHAT A CRAVEN JELLY OF A MAN YOU REALLY ARE?

HAVING BODYGUARDS IS NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT, IT’S NOT A MATTER OF SOCIAL PROMINENCE, YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A SIMPLE SCUMBAG WHO MILLIONS WOULD LIKE TO SEE ERADICATED…………….

TAKE UP MY CHALLENGE, I DARE YOU?

I WILL FIGHT YOU FOR THE RELEASE OF THE TRUE MORTALITY RATES YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS INFLICTED, THE ONES HIDDEN FROM PUBLIC VIEW.

THE FINAL NAIL IN YOUR COFFIN…………….

……………and maybe the reason that i am being paid only £32.30 per week, disabled for life………………………..

just like you Geoff I had that magic 33pounds a week has I had that new law of 365days come into being yet I fought and a few yrs down the line won through to sg yet I hope you too can do it but making oneself mad at this sorry excuss for a human nah just try to remember we all suffer m/h problems after coming in contact with the dwp I hope you can resist kicking that imp but then could I come and try also be good jeff3

Barking mad…try explaining his ravings to a parent whose child needs school shoes and coat and to get by despite being diabetic mum lives on tea and toast while dad lives it up worrying himself sick over how he will repair d car to get to min wage job zero hrs contract.
Best income takers for the govt are legalized drugs, fags aga alcohol. Are they going to ban those?

Aren’t they scrapping tax credits and replacing them with universal credit? Or are they just going to kill them off and make UC just an out of work benefit? Next they’ll stop housing benefit to the low waged.

I think he wants to move what was paid in tax credits to employers, who he said has to put the same amount in as the government does when recruiting employees, then it will look like employers are paying the minimum wage plus.

This is the worst slander yet against those that are struggling & have barely enough to live on, but spend their tax credits on drink & drugs instead of feeding thier kids. Really? On what evidence? Oh, I see, Drunken Shit believes it so it must be true! Must be weird living in IDS’ world.
Time he was locked up in a padded room wearing that nice jacket with the straps that fasten round the back for all our sakes

I’ve thought the same for some time & whatever it is it must be pure dynamite for the incompetent moron to keep his job. As you stated there has to be something on the web somewhere, as to whatever IDS is using to blackmail Camoron. Time to start digging!

David Hammerings sexuality will not be revealed for another 30 years.
You will just have to wait.
Ian Duncan Smith is about to be outed, then retired to the House of lords where he will feel in a comfort zone .

theres nothing that smith has on cameron or vise versa just look through history,cameron is desperate for power and stay in power,he tries to play the nice guy,smith is simply a henchman to defract from his lackings,i think if there was any dirt it would be out by now

I don’t think he has anything on him… its all working to plan, while we rage at IDS for being a total cockwombling fuck up out to destroy anyone poor it leaves camoron free to carry on, un-hindered, and also distracts from giddiots total faliour to reduce both the debt and deficit having now run up tripple that of the outgoing labour party… the lies over “feeling better off” and “lower unemployment” are reaching stupid levels for some reason… oh yeah their going to get their heads kicked in at the general election next year along with the libdums near total obliteration after becoming tory lapdogs in 2010.

Lucy, re. the selective use and validation of sanctions as a “tool”:
i read your (very restrained & measured) comment on vp – went to have a look as it was a sanctions-related article & like you, i was curious about what might be in it ….

People have different ways of ‘explaining’ things to themselves don’t they – depending on what their starting point is – but this level of (?rationale?) is either above or beyond me. I agreed almost 100 percent with your comment, but reading the reply there didn’t seem much point in adding to what you’d said – other than to 2nd it. (I don’t know about the motivation/impetus of seemingly being able to both condemn and support something more or less in the same paragraph – i will admit to being a bit mystified, and at the same time not altogether surprised). Ho hum

I agree, it’s almost impossible to understand what Mike Sivier was trying to achieve by endorsing sanctions (over here) then making a post on VP that seemed to be him taking a few shuffles back to ameliorate what he had written over here.

I think you are spot on regarding the way people explain things to themselves. I would guess that IDS does similar when formulating policies that lead to deaths.

I didn’t expect him to publish the comment I left over there. I haven’t been back yet to see. I normally wouldn’t have a go like that, but this time I was so shocked to see him back a system that is being used to destroy lives and resulting in real deaths. I’ve thought a lot about this and I still think he’s been dazzled by the possibility that one day he will get to mingle and talk with the big wigs via media exposure.

On here he stated that he wasn’t a neoliberal, yet the words he used on here did nothing but praise neoliberal policies and politicians. He wouldn’t engage over here to discuss it, which I thought very arrogant.

There’s bit of a hierarchy in any blogging community I’ve noticed. Maybe he wants to climb a few rungs higher? I hope it isn’t true, because we poor sods need all the voices we can to help us.

His outrage on here that I should dare to question his motives told me that I might well be right about what I said. Maybe I touched a nerve. I’d have thought better of him if he had engaged with my challenge here.

I thought I’d see what, if any reply Mike Sivier made to my comment on his blog. But lo and behold the comment I posted there has not made it through VP’s moderation, or it has been removed?

You made a great comment there Shirley, and in his reply to you I think he just exposes his lack of education in educational matters, along with a load of old scrounger rhetoric about the unemployed staying in bed.

There’s an extensive and informative comment on that post by “Florence” who clearly understands the problematic nature of forcing basic skills training (it won’t be education) on individuals who have a basic skills shortfall. Florence understands that force stops learning of any value happening. But like a lot of people who have no clue about this issue, Mike again embarrasses himself with his reply to her, insisting that sanctions are a reasonable course of action should someone refuse basic skills training. A basic course in the psychology of learning might benefit Mr Sivier and help him not spout more his offensive prejudice and ignorance on this issue.

There is a snippy (and tragically revealing) little comment by Mike Sivier at the end of that post that makes it very clear what Mike Sivier’s opinion is of us……

“I have found myself defending my views – more on another blog site than this one – against opinions that are little more than knee-jerk dribblings (if that isn’t a mixed metaphor).”

The post it comes from is this:
mikesivier.wordpress.com/2014/01/20/workplace-battleground-labour-and-tories-at-war-over-employment/#comments

So, fellow dribblers, that is what Mike Sivier thinks of you. He is too cowardly to enter into debate on anything other than his terms. He has applied a strict rule on how we must engage but applies arbitrary and random rules on his behaviour. Ergo: We are not allowed to disagree with him nor question his allegiances, but he is free to call us dribblers.

Isn’t that a clear mark of a bully? Someone who applies strict rules for everyone but not for themselves?

Next time he turns up here, filled with arrogant and aspirational delight, promoting schemes that have sanctions that will be abused and will cause deaths, I may not be so polite to him.

Anyway, just reminded myself that the old saying “runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds” really does fit Mike Sivier. Despite a raft of pro-disabled/anti-tory/DWP postings in the last few days, it’s too late Mike, we can see your petticoat love.

The further the monkey climbs up the tree, the more we can see its arse.
….. and in Mike’s case, it’s blue.

sn and lucy
you’re posts are truly magnificent, what a great analysis…who am i to say, but a knee jerk dribbler, who has not in my 61yrs formed any opinions on any subject….some lengthy, dribbling, knee jerk i have suffered, eh!

Hmm. Dissent = knee-jerk reaction, in much the same way as pointing out the truth in parliament = scaremongering. I really, really don’t think that the reason things have got steadily worse in recent years is because we don’t have enough self-belief and positivity or feel passionate enough, or each try in whatever ways Of Our Own Choosing to cling on to what we believe/speak out against what we know is unjust/amoral.

I won’t be writing to Rachel Reeves. (I do occasionally write to a.n.other local mp but not convinced at all that he isn’t old/newLabour & only in extremis) – so perhaps there is a tendency to not want to give up completely on something that used to seem important at one time. (Nostalgia for hope/belief in the ‘orderliness’ of life). So I can understand someone who’s been brought up to believe in the political process finding it hard to accept that it’s all a giant con … it’s certainly taken me a while. There’s just too much evidence to ignore now though – surely that’s why so many people who do care deeply (for their own rights and future chances, and about how their children’s/grandchildren’s lives are going to pan out) take the time to discuss politics – for want of a better word – here and in similar places – where we’re fortunate enough to hear from others – also extremely disillusioned – yet not given up by any means.

When the 3 main parties speak though – they do sound more or less exactly the same (Animal Farm – final scene).

And actively choosing not “to participate” (in the sense of petitioning MPs) does not equate to apathy. Can’t it be equally that after giving serious consideration to the political system/process, it’s possible to make a conscious decision to get off the merrrygoround – rather than stay on and keeping going round and feeling sicker and sicker? (as in when beginning to be too elderly to enjoy the waltzers in the same way as a starry-eyed 14 year-old might) – not wanting to be spun round any more, and deciding to admit that “the jig is up” – recent favourite expression (as heard at a local theatre production of ‘Annie’).

So true, I’m a working single mum on tax credits, in my last job I was sexually harassed on a daily basis n in the end was signed off sick for 8 weeks and given anri depressant,…! I can barely afford heating never mind drugs!

Isn’t he judging poor people by his own standards. He is mentally deranged and incredibly Dangerous, and how did he meet any such families, no-one would be seen dead near him if they had a choice. If I met him I would really love to wind him up so he would fully lose his mind and his job! As for comparisons, I would strongly compare him to Himmler!!

…..SIMPLY PUT, THE P.C.S., THE UNION THAT EXISTS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORKS AND PENSIONS, HAS LESS BACKBONE THAN A JELLYFISH………………..

THE PUBLIC AND SERVICES UNION, ARE MERE PUPPETS OF A TWISTED, HEINOUS STRATEGY THAT IS KILLING INNOCENT VICTIMS, BY THE THOUSANDS.

IT’S A BIT LATE FOR THEM TO BE SHOWING SLIGHT CONCERN FOR THE ROCKETING NUMBERS DISAPPEARING FROM OUR STREETS BY EXPOSING DWP GOVERNMENT TARGETS, FOR WHAT WE ARE WITNESSING IS A STATE SPONSORED KILLING MACHINE.

EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF THIS UNION HAS TAKEN PART IN A CULL OF THE POOREST AND WEAKEST.

IT’S NO GOOD BEING PART OF A UNION JUST TO ACT AS ONE AND NEGOTIATE TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR YOUR MEMBERS, YOU ALSO HAVE A MORAL AND ETHICAL DUTY TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO PAY YOUR WAGES……………

MORE AND MORE DOCUMENTATION IS COMING INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ABOUT THE WAR OF ATTRITION STAGED AGAINST THE VULNERABLE.

THE CONDITIONS OF YOUR EMPLOYMENT SEEM TO BE, LIE ,CHEAT AND STEAL AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY………

COULD YOU HONESTLY FACE THE FAMILIES OF THOSE WHO HAVE LOST ONE, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF A MISGUIDED SANCTION?

I DOUBT IT!

MORTALITY RATES ARE BEING WITHHELD. THE MORTALITY RATES ARE A TRUE GRAPH OF THE EXTENT OF BLOOD ON YOUR UNIONS HANDS…………..

RUNNING SHY AND CLAIMING YOU WERE ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS WAS THROWBACK FROM THE NAZI’S, DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE THIS ONSLAUGHT OF INNOCENT VICTIMS?

I THINK NOT……….

TARGETS HAVE NO PLACE WHEN ASSESSING THE QUALITY OF A HUMAN BEINGS EXISTENCE, IT IS THE WORK OF A CORRUPT SOCIETY.
THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE IS MEASURED BY HOW IT TREATS ITS WEAKEST, NOT THE EVIL DEALT ON THOSE WITH THE LEAST RESOLVE.

THE P.C.S. HAS MENTIONED THAT ITS MEMBERS HAVE BEEN USING TARGETS TO SANCTION PEOPLE ON JOB SEEKERS ALLOWANCE, YET NO MENTION OF THE SANCTION AGAINST THE DISABLED WITH BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL PROBLEMS?

just passing does it really matter whot or how he puts his post you see I olso haven’t much to say about this union but geoffreys mad I was too but fought back from that 33poundsa wk to my rightfull bit I too be shouting its all we have left with this lot just that ps its a miracle I too can post with my brain getting smaller be gentle hay jeff3

IDS probably believes the garbage he is spouting. He is beginning to resemble one of those Dominican monks who gleefully tortured so-called “heretics” during the medieval Inquisition in order to save their souls from the (imaginary) flames of hell; he is, after all, a devout Christian.

He is a Roman Catholic and despite being a utterly deluded and mentally-ill total PRICK anyway this religion makes him even more barmy. It’s the essential ingredient to make him a case for straight jackets. Let’s face, it Roman Catholicism is a bit like Islam in that it is less liberal-minded and more all-encompasing than being a Protestant. This odious little shit needs to be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Indeed he was, Joanna. The faith of Romanists is a lot more dogmatic and all-encompassing (like Islam is) compared to the more liberal-minded Protestant religion. It should come as no surprise therefore that when a messianic belief in this denomination is combined with an an existing mentally-ill person ie Adolf Hitler or Iain Dumbo-Smith it causes that person to be even more bat shit insane than they would be ‘normally’.

Ron, No disrespect to you Hon But, – Free speech is free speech. When someone such as IDS claims they are of a religious faith yet treats people with utter contempt then we have every right to challenge his ideals.

But he is a compulsive liar,encouraged by his back room faceless team to play the religious card.
The only thing that he believes in is Ian Duncan Smith.
So therefore we should discount him.
The more publicity this cretin gets the more he likes it , and i must add his team of cretins will be seeking to get his job.
So maybe we should be uncovering their names for future reference.?

He is also giving mentally ill people everywhere a bad name – the vast, vast majority of whom are not in any way dangerous and even in that negligable number of cases, more often than not the danger is to themselves.

The difference (from most other people, ill or otherwise) in IDS’ case, are the resources he has at his disposal. He seems all-too frighteningly similar to the main character in ‘The Collector’ (by John Fowles), who was innocuous, ineffectual and not able to much to damage others despite being almost completely detached from reality. It was only after a sudden windfall meant he could buy a detached house, not overlooked, and a van in which to start taking women against their will and holding them prisoner that he was able to start to enact his fantasies. At which point, he had the power of life and death over his innocent victims (as with the butterflies in his collection).

Please note, this isn’t a recommendation of the book. Do not read last thing at night – or after watching the latest screening of anything emanating from the (SOS) DWP. This is a horror story too.

Does Catholicism preach starve the poor like the protestant work ethic does?
If this man is a catholic he is not practicing his faith, nor were wicked Dominicans, pervert priests or anybody else who wants to exploit or has no empathy for the poorest in society.

Guy,don’t forget it was roman catholics that imprisoned women for decades in the uk in magdalen laundaries. I have to disagree with Ron though, because IDS opened that door himself. also calling the poor, drug addicts, not the brightest thing to say! Me thinks!

Religion and worship in themselves merely `man made` systems in which to control masses.
But, Catholicism and the systematic abuse of the vulnerable – All in a days work – Just less covering up than usual

TAX CREDITS ARE LIKE A DRUG IN THEMSELVES – THEY GET THE MUGS HOOKED ON WORKING FOR SHIT PAY – UNTIL THE GOVERNMENT (DEALER) (SLOWLY) WITHDRAWS THEIR SUPPLY, BUT IT IS TOO LATE THEN SINCE THEY ARE ALREADY HOOKED (TRAINED INTO WORKING FOR SHITE MONEY)

A really good way of pissing IDS off would be to taunt him (through his various websites and email addresses) about the General Election next year and the fact that ‘when’ Labour win, his control over benefit claimant’s will be at an end – permenantly!

No longer will he have any power to destroy people’s lives and will never be put in such an important position again – EVER!

If only Labour could win in his constituency as for some strange reason it is a very safe Tory seat (Tory Majority 30% over Labour) I live nearby in Brentwood and Ongar which is also one of that party’s safest (Tory Majority 33% over the Lib Dems) and whilst we look like a safe constituency for a Tory MP his doesn’t really. Chingford and Woodford Green is a bit of a dump compared to Brentwood..

Michael Portillo was one of the most hated people within John Major’s government yet he was veritably sane compared to IDS. He lost his previously safe Tory seat in the 1997 Labour landslide and all non-Tory people enjoyed seeing him lose. This event was even referred to as the “were you up for Portillo?” moment! It’s a shame there is not likely to be a “were you up for IDS?”

I doubt he would care if Labour got in, I honestly think they are all in it as one. I have never voted in my life (I am 39) but, will be voting green for an optimistic hope of anyone but Labour and Condemns.

@Obi thats no doubt ..a nasty narcissist who believes he is freeing us ” slaves “…and out to prove he is the natural saviour of mankind and the real Tory party leader ..
This dangerous psychopath needs to be removed ..

Being a Catholic he’s anti-abortion and anti-contraception, also against married couples abstaining from or refusing sex, or being voluntarily sterilised. But also he wants poor people, many of whom are Catholic, to a)be married (but not have sex?) b)not have sex [conflicting with the rule on marrieds to fuck like rabbits (eachother, not third parties)]
c) not have kids.
Duhhhhhhh!
Logic circuits: Fried. Epic Fail.

No MP should be allowed to claim any expenses – my god if thet can’t live and pay for everything they have to do out of £66,396 a year, then they are just money grabbing bastards, and all of this is coming out of ‘taxpayers’ money.

Fine if they want to claim expenses, limit all MP’s salaies to £30,000 a year.

he carry’ s on with his bullshit because he’s gone unchallenged so far, so he’s going to carry can’t even be arsed wasting my time typing about him anymore, he’s HEARTLESS POSHBOY WANKER WHO’S BEEN ON THE PUBLIC TEAT ALL HIS SAD PATHETIC ADULT LIFE ! BIGGEST SPONGING BASTARD GOING!!

this is the 30th anniversary yr of the 1984 miners strike which left mining communities decimated, in deep poverty, and with all of the social problems caused by poverty…wages have dropped in real terms over these 3 decades, as inflation has soared, many people barely existing, 7.8m people are in work poverty….and his rhetoric is the same old same old tory crap, blame the poor…he points to the desperate poverty of muirhouse, i wonder how that happened?…a study has proved that if homeless people are given a lump sum of no strings cash, most will spend it on improving their lives, as they value themselves more. far from being a generous gesture, this method is far cheaper, much more productive, stops yrs of potential and real abject misery and/or of rapidly decaying health etc, “crime” to feed self and/or addictions, used to fend off the misery of being homeless and/or close to it, promotes healthier communities and saves paying the wages of all of the services that homeless people regularly come in contact with….all people need is a reliable income of vitals, when this is messed about with we go to pot….instead we are faced with this inane stupidity wrapped up as “for your own good” policy, which is drivel at best and madness at worst!

Poor in work and out of work people cant tighten their belts anymore, fact! All IDS is creating is civil unrest, people will and already do have no choice but to do something illegal to make ends meet but they are only the able bodied ones. IDS you are creating a monster of epic proportions who will surely turn on you! Btw, thanks for creating the Work Program which takes away my entitlement to apply for a self employment loan to start up my own business, very inspiring indeed. Go on IDS crush us into the ground but watch your back, your time is approaching, bullies are always brought down in time!

We should not be in the position of having to claim in work benefits its ludicrous, just pay a living wage instead of the better paid in-work people having to subsidise us, soon there will be many people hated for working for peanuts, youre even dividing the working class!

How utterly fucking stupid is this bunch of cretins to do that? Even the previous low in Tory mental illness ie Mrs Thatcher had quite a good employment scheme called the Enterprise Allowance so that people who had been out of paid work for a longtime could set-up an enterprise themselves and get employed in that way. Absolutely NOTHING this unelected shower of unthinking, callous and fucking THICK morons does anymore surprises me.

don’t forget peaps the the un lady who came last year is to give her report to the UN in March about the bedroom tax and uk poverty, lets hope something will come of it, like IDS’ head on a pike on London bridge for all the poor people satisfaction!!! vlad the impaler we miss you!!!

Don’t bet on it. The Tories will simply launch another all-out attack on her reputation, and I don’t think she has the clout to get the UN to send peace-keeping forces here to restore some semblance of democracy.

Another man, who did not wish to be named, said his benefit was cut for a month in September.

“I explained that I was caring for my nana,” he said. “I was up and down to the hospital with her. It totally slipped my mind. I phoned up and said I’m half an hour late for my appointment and they said, ‘OK, we’ll just put it as a miss’.

“I got a letter two weeks later saying I was sanctioned – for 28 days.”

Mr Elliot said staff were being forced to carry out “politically motivated” objectives.

Can I bring to folks attention another potential dilemma for the DWP and claimants – namely, when people claimed Incapacity Benefit before April 1995 (it was called Invalidity Benefit) they were exempt from paying tax on it. Now,ESA is a taxable benefit ( who thought of taxing benefits I wonder?? one G> Brown me thinks) which means that once you transfer from IB to ESA you are liable for tax if you have extra income.

This means that you will receive less money than others transferring to ESA because you may be taxed now. There should be some protection for people in this situation but I don’t know if there is. This will affect many disabled people who can look forward to a drop in income on transfering to ESA. Does anyone find themselves in this position? Do you know of anyone in this position? Does anyone know whether there is any income protection on transfering from IB to ESA so as not to lose income? It seems rather like the Bedroom Tax dilemma when the law wasn’t changed – this could be similar with et more retrospective law to follow – the DWP and IDS really are SHIT

How long till somebody that has nothing else to loose, just looses it, and kills a politician or few. More and more people are getting close to the edge. The ones that won’t take this crud will be getting to the point soon. Thats also why we have the police arming to fight the population of the country.

It’s getting pretty close to it with idiots like IDS coming out with stupidity like this, almost like that is what they want to antagonise people more. It seems to be his jub, push the people till they break, and if they don’t break this time, push them more to see how far they can be killed off without any problem.

I have always believed law is nothing but politicians deliberate intent to control the masses to uphold their (politicians) rules.
Any normal intelligent individual can understand you do not need a rule or law to not commit a certain crime but morals.
In other areas of crime, standards of living need to improve to ever cease that certain area of crime – No amount of laws, rules and punishment will ever work until standards of living change. Poverty is the worst inducement of crime and the fuckers both know and love it.

Most rules and laws do not cater for the victim anyhow, punishment does not deter etc, This is because the standards of living have never improved for the masses and of course the intent is that they never will.

You are right civil unrest is long overdue – I just hope people turn on those who are the causes and not on eachother.

As if addicts who are under to the point of neglecting their children aren’t under the eye of social sevices anyway. The way he’s talking you’d think it was just allowed to go on unchecked. If they were really doing what he says they’re doing, they’d only have the tax credit for a very short period of time as their kids would be taken away.

True, and wouldn’t the parents buy their drugs using their actual wages and either sell the money loaded on their benefits card on, or use that for shopping? I remember back when asylum seekers had vouchers. I’d go shopping in sainsburys 4 wat wanted, using their voucher, and Give them the cash so they could buy their halal meat ect…..

And there they are claiming one million sickness claimants have been found fit for work.
Do they take us for cunts now ?
After all the fuss about Atos plus the 3 hour debate in parliament by members on all sides plus all the negative shit about Atos WCA. It’s like none of that happened and lordy hallelujah a million people have suddenly been cured by Atos ..

sadly a scary number of people are stupid. Or, I suspect, have simply accepted the excuse they’ve been given to wilfully blind themselves to reality. The mainstream “debate” about welfare in this country is now entirely myth-based, to the point where facts are no longer even welcome; those of us who actually know what’s going on have been shoved so far out to the margins that we are essentially disenfranchised.

@slug the PCS union stuff on sanction targets was on bbc site…of course DWP denied it…along with the benefit
related deaths fdespite the fact that CPAG warned them in consultation that it would happen ..along with other warnings about workfare being used for corruption …

Thats the DWP for you …” Lala not listening ” it reminds me of a certain minister ..can’t think of his name now…something something smith ..

Sunday Politics had the bbc talking of being forced to give out sanctions, they could leave of course, but Alan Beith adamant that is the way to go, even though he admits a lot of mistakes are made and no-one is compensated. The staff that make the error should be sacked and pay those they have wrongly sanctioned out of their own pocket.

How is this for timing ?
The BBC tell us now that a number of claimants on Benefit Street have been charged with guess what ? Drug Offences

Well that must be all those on tax credits then I guess ..the same ones who ate sitting on their arses being criminals because they are on benefits after all claimants are criminals and terrorists and drunks and skivers and fake disabled and gangsters

@slug .but its the point that ALL claimants are drug offenders aren’t they …like we are awash in immigrants and feckless old people are bed blocking the NHS the point is is this.
1 we can’t afford the welfare state
2 we can’t afford the NHS
3 we can’t afford the old

That’s why we have these trade fairs for welfare to work companies to benefit from because the country is so skint that we have to throw miilions at pointless schemes like UC and Atos and fraudulent companies like A4e….
It’s simple economics doncha know..

All seems far too convenient, & IDS won’t stop banging his gums from now on repeating ad nauseaum at anyone who’ll listen that those claiming tax credits are drink & drug addled wasters. Watch the comments in the Daily Heil from now on….

“If and when uncertainty spreads to the dollar, the real crisis will arrive, likely followed by high inflation, exchange controls, pension confiscations, and resurrected illegality of owning gold and silver. Capitalist greed aided and abetted by economists and policymakers will have destroyed America.”

Tax credits are the only thing keeping me and my son’s head above water and I don’t smoke, drink, gamble, do drugs or even go out. I live the life of a monk. All my money, all of it, goes on taking care of my kid, food, transport, school uniforms, etc. If they scrap tax credits then I honestly don’t know what we will do.

Benefits Street claimants arrested for drug offences therefore all claimants are drug addicts because Benefit Street depicts the ” real lives ” of claimants .so we are ALL drug addicts whilst being criminals in wheelchairs faking our sickness and running terrorist ventures as gangsters driving around in our free BMW cars living it up in our free mansions in ghettos ..
Ok I wasn’t sure
Maybe those flat screen televisions we all have are really explosive devices

No wonder IDS has armed police wherever he goes …we are obviously a danger to soceity..

BENEFIT CLAIMANTS SAY THEY GET TOO MUCH MONEY.
If obviously gets in the way of selling their flat screen bombs whilst driving around in the BMW wheelchairs that they got by faking their disability whilst living in mansions in ghettos being gangsters whilst being alcoholic drug addicts which drove them to kill animals ..

The one encouraging thing I can take from that article in the Telegraph is the comments section – it is choc full of commenters tearing a strip off IDS, not just for this current policy but for everything he’s done over the last few years.

Perhaps people aren’t quite so willing to swallow IDS’ lies and bullshit as they used to be.

Guardian CIF is infested by right-wingnut swivel-eyed loons these days, I’ve just had abuse off one for commenting that Ed Balls proposed 50p tax rate for the well-off doesn’t go far enough & should be 70p.
Maybe the idiot got lost on the way to the Daily Heil…

But what about the Daily Moron/Hate/Heil? It is only when the cretins who ‘read’ that ‘newspaper’ wake-up to reality then we may get somewhere. I have written a few comments over there whenever they launch into one their demented rants about the unemployed or benefit claiments. I get some people backing them but not enough.

Death threats against claimants. Following another ” benefit scrounger ” tv program ..” On benefits and proud ” made by C5.. Isn’t that owned by dirty des the faily sexpress..
Why are all these programs being made ?

“West Midlands Police is probing a string of abusive tweets and online messages aimed at residents.”.
Oh and we read this AFTER reading that police are investigating criminal activity in benefit street. And belated out of date shit about drug offences …so priority is to make the residents look shit and crooked thus backing the muderous threats ..then just mention the serious consequences of those threats …I see some fucking overpaid footballer chimed in with those threats too..
How fucking nice of him

The thing to remember about IDS is that he was a total failure as Tory leader; he never even fought a General Election. Many Tories despise him on a personal level. It would be fantastic if he lost the ( relatively safe) Chingford seat. No other constituency would want him. He would be finished. People in that area have a strong tendency to vote right of centre. Therefore a good showing by UKIP could let Labour in.
HE MUST LOSE.

His constituency is one of the Tory Party’s safest seats. He has a majority of 30.1% so would need to have a ‘swing’ (half the percentage majority) of 15% against him to lose. My seat (Brentwood and Ongar) is nearby and we are only a little bit safer (percentage majority 33%)

The thing that is interesting about his seat is the Labour Party and NOT the Liberal Democrats are in second-place. When Tory-held constituencies become as safe as his is (ie over 30% majorities) the Lib Dems are normally in this position in them like in Brentwood and Ongar.

I don’t know about how well UKIP do in his seat. I suspect they don’t get much support because the seat in in London and they don’t do well in the capital. Michael Portillo was defeated on a pro-Labour swing of 17% in 1997 but then, of course, the Tories were really hated and had been in government for long that even safe seats like his fell to the massive Labour landslide.

Notice how IDS now categorizes those who get tax credits as ”on benefits”.
There are a lot of Tory voters who rely on tax credits,but who don’t think of themselves as ”on benefits”. It’ll be a shock for them to find themselves grouped alongside all these ”scroungers” that they hate.
This could be a big mistake by the tories(as well as evil)

maybe this si not such a bad thing there are a lot of folk who shrug there shoulders saying “im not on benefits i work 16 hrs in spar” well there time has come ive been expecting it for sometime,part time workers have started to look down on the sick and who they percieve as scroungers maybe now they will realise that ids hates them as much as us

IDS is only fronting for the tories while Cameron and Osborne take a back seat and sound more plausible. Eventually when IDS is kicked out of the cabinet he would have already done the nasty work that they want him to do. We are among a group of 2.3 million umemployed with a few million more receiving benefits who can’t work against nearly 30 million in work who are just grateful they are not on the receiving end of bullying as we are. If we are forced to work for benefits from april as looks likely it will become part of becoming unemployed that you have a limited time on benefits before being forced to work for them. We are only 16months from an election but a lot can happen in 16 months to the unemployed as we are phased into work for benefit schemes so that the majority don’t get involved and whoever wins the next election it looks like they will endorse whatever they inherit.

OURKINGDOM 17 January 2013Subjects:Equality Economics Democracy and government UK Changes to the contentious test designed to judge whether seriously sick or disabled people in Britain are fit for employment are being proposed without debate, despite evidence to show they will have a “huge and damaging impact”.In less than a fortnight, the UK government is due to make a set of changes to the Work Capability Assessment (WCA). The WCA is the ‘fitness to work’ test which assesses whether sick and disabled people can get Employment and Support Allowance (ESA): a benefit designed to help and support very unwell or profoundly disabled people into work.Although these changes have been advertised as small ‘amendments’, a new briefing co-published by Ekklesia, the beliefs and values think-tank, and Sue Marsh, a disability campaigner and author of the blog Diary of a Benefits Scrounger, warns that the amendments will have a “huge and damaging” impact on the way people’s illnesses are reviewed. Below, we publish a version of Sue Marsh’s blog for Diary of a Benefits Scrounger, setting out the two main problems identified with the proposed legislation and their human cost. Problem One: False AssumptionsIn the fitness to work test, your needs are assessed by a ‘healthcare professional’ employed by the French private company ATOS. This assessor doesn’t just need to look at your current difficulties. For example, they can also imagine how using an aid (e.g. a wheelchair) might improve your ability to work and make a judgement based on that –without even asking your opinion! However, if the proposed legislation is allowed to pass, this “imaginary test” will be able to be used for many more aids (including guide dogs and false limbs!). This means that soon thousands more people could be judged as fit to work, without being consulted, on the basis of an “imaginary” aid they don’t own or may not be able to use.It gets worse. Even if returning to work may clearly put you at risk, these changes will mean you can still lose your disability benefit – as long as the assessor believes that trying a new therapy or treatment might reduce that risk. There’s no need for evidence that the treatment will help: you will lose support either way, making it much harder to manage if the treatment doesn’t work as hoped – let alone if it ends up making things worse.Imagine Bert, who suffers from severe schizophrenia, but is found fit to work and made to take behavioural therapy in the hope of improving his condition. He will lose his disability benefit, without the assessor having to look at several vital questions: how hard it would be for Bert to contact a psychiatrist? How long would an NHS appointment take to organize? Are there private options in his area – and could he afford them if so? What if the therapy doesn’t work, or takes a long time to adjust to?If the government’s rule changes go through, people like Bert who are desperate to work will find it nearly impossible to get an accurate assessment, affecting the quality of their support and actively preventing their efforts to get back into work.Problem Two: Separating physical and mental healthThe government is also trying to change the way people’s conditions are assessed by dividing health problems into two separate boxes: ‘physical’ and ‘mental’. When looking at what tasks people can do, only the ‘physical half’ of the test will apply to those with physical disabilities. The same goes for the effects of treatment: for e.g., if you’re takingmental health medication, only mental health side-effects will be looked at.This completely fails to understand the way that many disabilities and illnesses can lead to both physical and mental effects. This is also the case for many common treatments: such as those for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.Think of Emily, who suffers severe, chronic pain because of nerve damage to her leg. Emily is among the 49% of chronic pain sufferers who also suffer depression as a result of continuous pain. An assessor may see Emily as able to do some work as long as she takes strong painkillers for the rest of her life, meaning she could pass the ‘fitness’ test. Yet the painkillers may not deal with the depression caused by her condition. Painkillers have also often been shown to affect people’s wakefulness and decision-making. So taking the medication may affect Emily’s ability to do a job in a completely new way – yet because these new problems are cognitive, they would not need to be looked at by the assessor when making their decision. Pretending the effects of illnesses and disabilities can be separated in this way goes against all medical practice. Going even further, and using this method to ignore sick and disabled people’s needs, is at best hopeless policy, and at worst deliberate cruelty. To find out more about the proposed legislation, go to Diary of a Benefit Scrounger, or see the below:* The Briefing on Employment and Support Allowance (Amendment) Regulations 2012 can be read and downloaded in full, and as an executive summary, here: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/ESAbriefing* Press Release: ‘Latest Work Capability Assessment proposals will worsen plight of sick and disabled people’ – http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17811* WOW (War on Welfare) petition site: http://wowpetition.com/ The Government Direct e-petition can be found here: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/43154

big beans
yes, i know it creates a very complex situation and it’s impact needs to be thoroughly unravelled….what with mandatory reconsiderations….imo they are also now moving into diagnostics….and dumps even more pressure on the claimant to prove need…

Just been watching “take me out”, some people say they are all gay men looking for a free holiday to Fernando’s, courtesty of the straight women contestants looking for love, but I wouldn’t dream of saying such a thing.

i no longer watch mainstream tv,its vaccous divisive and political,i miss it but cant go back i watch iplayer and youtube then i dint have to buy in to the celleb driven rubbish and sopas opium of the people guy

DEAR ALL…ATM I AM ASTOUNDED BY ADMIN OF DISABLED SITE..I POSTED ABOUT THE 1,000,000 FOUND FIT FOR WORK AND MY CONCERN ABOUT DEPICTION OF DISABLED IN MEDIA…THE THREAD WAS GOING OK TILL ADMIN STEPPED IN AND POSTED THAT WAS BECOMING ‘ TOO POLITICAL ‘ AND IT MIGHT UPSET SOMEONE…SO 10,600 DEATHS IS NOT UPSETTING BUT MENTIONING MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE AT DWP ?
I WENT TO POST BACK BUT THREAD HAD BEEN DELETED…..
WHAT FKIN COUNTRY…

Ps there is something up with that site as they removed ie censored my ref to J HUNT the health sec. And another poster had ref to IDS redacted ….
And these are meant to represent disabled people ?.
WTF…

“Deletion of your Millions fit to work thread
Dear Bobchewie, Unfortunately I have needed to delete your recent post as I commented that the thread was closed and you replied despite my kind request. Despite your pleas of disability & welfare reformed political discussion I had already
deleted it because….Blah Blah mustnt upset the DWP or IDS or ministes or fucking who…”

Know your place don’t rock the boat…stop complaining ..put up with it all just shut up.

“Dear Department of Wobbly-chins and Pisstakers,
Your representative, ‘IDS v.1 .0’ (Faulty Model no. C-18/NSDAP),
(Dept. Zyklon B),
informed the nation recently that all poor, disabled and
unemployed people on benefits are on drugs. Thankyou for this
most useful and enlightening piece of information.
According to any number of documentaries on the subject,
every heroin addict must steal several car radios etc. per day,
in order to pay for heroin costing hundreds of pounds a week.

As I am a benefits recipient, disabled/sick and unemployed, and in
poverty, I am writing to inform you that I am not a criminal and do not take
drugs. As a gesture of goodwill, could you now promptly remedy this severe income disparity, by reimbursing every benefits recipient in the country with an indefinite weekly payment of at least three figures, equivalent to the amounts earned by some of Britain’s most prolific offenders?

Got a shady phone number to watch out for Gang;
01616609092
If you get a text message from a mobile about a work start asking you to call this number it is a cost trap. £1.25 of your money just to connect. If you get a dead call its a cost trap. SLM Marketing are one of the shady shit heaps responsible. They also use this number for telesales of vodafone monthly plans to payg customers as voda have given them lists,it seems.Neither answer this number or ring it, block it on your handset if you get called.

The CSJ has published more than 350 policy solutions to reverse this
breakdown – breakdown which costs society more than £100 billion a year –
and move people out of poverty. ((
At the heart of these solutions is recognition
that the nature of the life you lead and the choices you make have a significant
bearing on whether you live in poverty))
. Policy-makers regularly fail to
understand this, instead viewing poverty through a financial lens only.
This is in the opening paragraph of
Dynamic
Benefits
Towards welfare that works by the Centre for Social Justice

Iain Duncan Smith is, without doubt, a Sociopath. He is totally power crazy and considers himself ‘god like’, his way the only way to the extent all other views and opinions are disregarded. Hitting the poor, sick, disabled and disadvantaged as he does shows he has no moral compass or compassion. You cannot reason with a mad man. He’s on a mission to create the pauper class, the despised, victimised souls who have done nothing more than find themselves in dire straits. IDS’s view is that they’ve made themselves that way. Evil beyond belief is this man, who has never done a proper days work in his life, nor has he the worry about paying his bills or feeding his family. Shameful, but he won’t see it that way. On the contrary, he thinks he’s doing a great job.,

He is probably far from what would be considered ‘insane’ to people of average or lesser intelligence -I believe he must be cynically using Orwellian Newspeak, and aware of the evil he is doing. The Tories have always done hateful things to the poor and called it help. They keep hoping it will work.

[with thanks to Tony Collins and Campaign for Change for permission to repost] Capita’s share price has fallen to a new 10-year low today (8 December 2016) after chief executive Andy Parker warned that “near-term headwinds” would hit trading performance in the first half of 2017. The company’s share price of 513p at lunchtime today was 9%… Continue Reading C […]

Devastation writes, SERIOUSLY BAD NEWS Sharp readers will remember the plan announced in 2015 to shrink the “estate” of the DWP by 20% over the next few years. Well, here are some examples of this move in Glasgow – where a whopping HALF of all Jobcentres will close!!!!!! This is devastating news, because thousands of […]

Report by CJ6.30PM-8.30PM Monday 21st Nov 2016 Unite Housing Workers and Social Housing Residents meeting. Only 6 people including CJ and Tim B. Discussed problems with social housing providers for workers and tenants, so in both our interests to get together. Another meeting pencilled in for 30thJan 2017. Nice coffees and luxury biscuits.Noon-1.15pm Weds 23 […]

Today, Netpol supporters received our November 2016 newsletter in their email in-boxes. It is now also available online here. If you would like to receive future email updates, sign up to Netpol’s ‘announcements’ list here. We would also like to ask for your help: if you think the work we undertake is important and worth … The post Read our November 2016 new […]